Jake's contribution to the discussion about Tesla getting $350million from the Federal government:
Why not set a floor of at least $4 a gallon for gasoline/diesel to encourage private investment then pump every cent in delta between the floor and actual price to develope open source energy conservation technologies? I see $350 million as a drop in the bucket considering we're up against nations like China who, right now, is on the warpath where green energy generation and conservation are concerned. And, they're hedging their bets by buying up all the resourses they can find while the US "invests" in an obscene scheme created by the meanest group of hucksters to rape the system yet.
I don't see a $40k electric car or otherwise as a viable option for the majority of US households. If it's not a majority option here, it certainly won't be a majority option in any other spot on the planet. Which is most likely why VW shelved a mass produced diesel-electric hybrid and partnered with Toshiba while predicting a 10 year gestation period for a viable electric car.
We've got to start somewhere. But if we're coming in at $40k when China and Germany enter at $25k we're going to lose in a big way. A sure way to get the mobilization required would be to artificially jack up the floor on energy cost thereby guaranteeing a market for any bold enough to field the ultimate energy conservation device. As Friedman pointed out in Hot, Flat, and Crowded, business investment is driven by the market low point and not by the high.
